Admiral 30A14 scored
 

I took a little road trip to central Illinois and picked up yet another Admiral.
According to the owner, her husband had been lugging it around long before they were married in the hopes of getting it running again.
Sadly, he passed away before that could happen, but maybe I can fulfill his dream.

It's in rough shape to be sure, but it came with a cool bonus.

It's nice to get out of the city once in a while.
Gas sure is (relatively) cheap. It's about $4.69 in my neighborhood.

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Here it is packed in my car. It's always a good idea to pull the chassis from the cabinet. There was only one screw holding down that bottom chassis :no:
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Finally back home.
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Someone stuck two 5U4s in it. One of them should be a 5Y3.
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It's not the original admiral 10BP4. It's a CBS/Hytron 10BP4A. The 'A' means it's a grey glass faceplate IIRC
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I'm pretty sure someone replaced the tuner. The chassis mounting tab near it is mangled and the shaft is way too long.
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It's possible this set originally had the early wafer switch Admiral tuner and maybe even had channel #1. The decals are too faded to make out :(
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I have all the knobs except the channel changer.
I've seen some photos of early sets where it looked just like the others - no tail.
I do have some extras like that so I'll use one for now. The knobs with a tail are a real pain to find.
The veneer on top and the sides is pretty miserable. I'll probably just replace it all.
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The speaker is in good shape :)
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HV cage is a little weird though.
Normally, just the center section slides out, but the whole side comes off in this set. Otherwise, it looks OK.
Also, the AC cord has been replaced with screws instead of rivets.
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The CRT was really weak at first, but came too life after cooking at 7 VAC for about 30 minutes. The life test is excellent.
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Very nice find. Glad the CRT is good. Keep us posted on the restore!

Now as for the bonus item I mentioned earlier - it's a cool jumbo strap on magnifier. It's oil filled and massive - must be at least 20 lbs.

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It mounts via two metal sleeves that lie on top and screw to the back of the set. Two rods mounted to the magnifier slide inside.

It looked kinda weird at first, but it's growing on me. We'll have to wait until it's running to see how well it actually works. For now, I just stuck a lantern inside.

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So am I. I hooked it up to my Sencore CR70 and let it run a while longer. Now it reads like new and is rock solid on the life test:)
I had a run of bad luck with my last few sets, so it's nice to find a strong one.

I now have a 30A12, 30A14 and 30A16 all with the same chassis. I'll set up a little assembly line and do all three at once.
Or maybe four. I was contacted by someone local that inherited a set plus the elusive add-on matching radio/phonograph. I'm trying to convince them it's worth restoring :yes:

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No, that's not my place. :D

wa2ise = Bob Casey.

LOL - If it was you'd have a monopoly. I was running really low and gas and was told this was the only station for many miles.
BTW I was in Varna, Illinois.

Wow, that magnifier is huge.

I may have a spare Admiral knob with the tail, but the non-tail one may be correct for that one. What color are the knobs, medium brown or dark brown? Let me know if you want the tail one if I have it.

Don't invite any small kids to your house -- that monster cyclops magnifier will scare the daylights out of 'em.

It looked w-a-y too big at first, but then I checked the magnifier on my 3" Pilot TV-37, and it's roughly the same size relative to the CRT. I guess that's just how this kind of thing scales up.

Phil Nelson

If that magnifier is too cloudy/yellowish, this might be the first set you have to give an oil change to! :) Looks like yours is filled with cooking oil from the colour :)

Usually they're filled with mineral oil. If it's meant to be changed, there should be a drain screw/plug somewhere.

I looked at the tube location label and it shows a two tube tuner. I never had an Admiral that old. Also, all the power supplies I had, had a 6X5 rect. in the audio supply.

ah, how often those 6X5s keep popping up... only been here a year and I already cringe when I see that tube number :D

Yowsir. :eek:That's a ticking time bomb for sure. oc

Always thought those "Flying Buttress" Admirals were kinda "Funky" lookin'....But would I turn one down ? ARE YOU CRAZY IN TH' HEAD ?!? (Grin)

I hope you fix that one, it's nice to see the worst condition set restored!

FWIW,the 6AX5GT is the same pinout as a 6X5 and a lot more robust. If your power trans can handle .4a more current it should work fine!